He said as the industry expands, the policing agencies, the Ministries of Labour and Natural Resources and Environment have not expanded to meet the challenges that confront the industry.

Lewis was speaking during an interview with this Newscast at Linden. He said there appeared to be a trend in this country, where foreign companies are prepared to disregard the laws and time honoured principles and do as they like.

Lewis pointed to a number of accidents and deaths that have occurred over the last ten years in the mining sector, which he believes supersedes the figures of the years gone by when there was rigorous enforcement of safety measures and labour laws.

Two incidents that come to mind are the recent deaths of three bauxite miners at Bosai and the death of three gold miners when a pit caved in at Aranka. The union leader is of the view that if safety measures are enforced some of the accidents can be avoided.